Printing device for printing machines



July 17, 1934. v H. P. ELLloTT 1,966,664

PRINTING DEVICE FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed April 6, 19:52

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PatentedJuly 17, 1934 4 UNITED STATES PRINTING DEVICE FOR PRINTING Y y MACHINES Harmon PiElliott, Watertown, Mass. Application April s, 1932, serial n1603562 c s claims. (o1. 10i-omg like for defining the locations for the tabs, and L This invention relates to printing plates for Printing oraddressing machines.

Certain printing, and particularly addressing, machines have the type characters, oraddresses, c 5 carried bya series of metal plates which are movedy msuccessionthrough the printing position of the machine. i

It is frequently desirable to use, at times, only certain onesand at other times certain others of the entire collection o! printing plates for printing. It isv impractical to remove `selected plates from the collection for printing and then to .restore them in their original order to the collection. Hence it is commonvpractice to run Vl5l the entire collection through the printing `machine and to emplovselector mechanism which is operated in accordance with certain characteristics of the plates to control the printing operation, those from which a printing operation is 99 to be effected causing the operation of the printing mechanism and the unwanted rplates passing through the machine without causing the printing mechanism to operate. 'The selector mechanism, `which' controls the A operation of the printing mechanism in .the 4type of machine Vin which the printing devices of the present invention are used, is electrically controlled. f Means isfprovided by which the successiveprinting devices are telt byanelectric con- .30 tact member that reciprocates. 'into and out of the line `of movement of each printing device. If the printing devicepermits'saidcontact member to engage a cooperatingcontact memberand thereby to complete anV electric circuit, theclosg ingof the circuit effects vthecontrol ofthe selector` mechanism to eifect a'printing operation on that vprinting device. The arrangement vcan be reversed, also, and a printing operation caused to Vto control the engaging ofthe selector contact members and hence the metal plateprdinarily has provisionr for removably, receiving one vor v'moremetal ftabs Ywhich project fromlan edge of 4the'lplateand can -bepositionedfatvany of a plu- 2 50 rality` of predetermined -positions along the edge of the plate, the tabs being arrangedto control the engaging of the selector contact vmerribers. Duephowever, to the fact that the tabs of necessity musthave substantial'rdimensions and '55 theplates must have recesses, shoulders or the for holding them in place, the number of tabsis strictly limited. There is need for a metal printing plate-having agreater` number of selector devices than can be accommodated by the usual construction of metal printing plate. For instance, a manufacturing concern vmay sell one hundred different productsand it may desire to circularize those onlyfof all its customers who buy but l,one special product.- Hence it isf'desirable toI have a printing `device that can .have as many selector positions as there are products. A metal printing device having provision for a .relatively great, number of selector constitutes an object of the present invention.

In carrying out my present invention1 I utilize the metal printing plate as one of the selector contact members and place over the face of the plate, preferably on the side opposite the printing characters, an electrically insulating cov'- er, preferably of paper which, also preferably, is f removably connected to the .plate so that when removed it `can be restored to thesame position thereon.k The insulating cover hasfprovision for receiving a large number of selector perforations therethrough, around the printing charac-V ters and, usually, on all four sides thereof. -The reciprocable selector contact member is `adapt- Ved'rto pass througha perforation and engage the metal plate and thereby effect vthe operation .of the printing mechanism, if the perforation and then contact member are in registration. Ifa perforation is not in register with vthe contact member,v the insulating coverprevents they con- Atactbetvveen the contact member and the plate,

so that the plategis causedto pass through the printingmechanism while thelatter is yheld idle.

Such an` arrangementconstitutes a furthery object'of the invention. f

, A further Objectis generally toimprove the i construction of printing devices forprinting inachines. l `A Fig.y 1` is a plan viewof one form of metal printing plate embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of ros 4less diagrammatic viewwherein an abutment is provided to dene the position of the selector cover on the plate.

The metal printing plate herein illustrated in connection with the present invention comprises a generally flat rectangular body l0 having its opposite long marginal portions folded over against the back face of the body portion as indicated at 12. The opposite short sides also have folded-over portions or lips 14 which overlie the marginal portions 12. The lips 14 are provided with parallel raised ribs 16 as is common with this type of plate. The printing characters 18 are embossed in the back face of the plate and stand out in relief on the opposite or front face of the plate.

In accordance with the present inventionthe printing plate is provided with an electricallyinsulating selector cover 20 which, as here shown, comprises a paper card that overlies the rear face of the plat-e and, for the maximum number of selector positions, covers as much of the address-free portion of the plate as isv practicable. The cover card `can be secured to the plate in any suitable manner. As herev shown the card is as wide as the plate and the short edges thereof are located between the body of the plate and the lips 14 and are held by the frictional engagement of said lips against unintentional displacement. The card is accurately positioned on the plate by aligning one of its edges with a corresponding edge of the plate. If desired, however, some positive abutments can be provided against which the card can be positioned. The lips 14, for instance, at their similar ends can be provided with downwardly reilexed ends 22, see Fig. 6, against which one long edge of the selector card can be positioned. Other positioning means, not necessarily shown, for

,- the card can be provided. The card can bear on its exposed face a facsimile 24 of the printing characters 18 of the plate, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the address borne by the pla-te can be determined readily or the card can have an opening 26, as illustrated in Fig. 5, through which the embossed printing characters of the plate are exposed, so that said characters can be read directly. Y

All of the surface of the card, except preferably the space occupied by the facsimile 24, or overlying the printing characters 18, is available for the location of selector perforations 28. It will be understood that the card need not have, necessarily, as many perforations 28 as there are locations therefor, but that a perforation may be in one location in the card of one printing plate and in another location in the card of another printing plate. In the example previously given. where a concern sells a hundred different items and has customers for the separate items, the cards of the printing plates should have provision for one hundred diii'erent perforation-locations, yet each card may have but one perforation, all being in different locations on the cards, each located to accordV with the particular item for which the address borne by the printing plate associated with the card is a customer. Since, however, a customer usually purchases more than one of the` products of a concern, the card associated with the customers addresswill have a number of perforations, located to accord with the kinds of goods purchased by the customer.

.It will be understood that this example is only one of the many diierent uses that can be made of printing devices having selector perforations or the like.

The cards herein illustrated are provided with a large number of selector perforations 28, which perforations are shown mainly to illustrate the locations for such perforations. The usual card will not need a perforation at every location for one. The perforation-locations can occupy the entire face of the card, spaced as close as is practicable and desirable. The perforations can extend in single or multiple rows parallel with all four edges of the card around the space which overlies the printing characters of the plate, although the idea of having perforations in the card directly above the printing characters is not herein precluded. The perorations will be located in the card in accordance with a preconceived plan so that a perforation in the same corresponding location in a plurality of cards means the same thing.

In this manner, the metal printing plate can be provided with a much larger number of selector devices than heretofore.

The use of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 4. The printing device is moved in a step by step manner along a guide way 30 toward the printing mechanism, not shown, and is in electrical contact therewith. At some time when the device is stationary it is located under a reciprocating selector arm 32 which has provision for receiving a suicient number of metal selector pins 34, one of which is here shown, which can be located in accordance with the pattern of the perforation-locations in the .insulating card of the printing device. The arm is reciprocated into `and out of engagement with the stationary printing device. If a pin 34 comes in contact with the card at a location where there is no selector perforation, the insulating card prevents the pin from making electrical contact with the metal printing plate. Hence no circuit is completed and the printing machine is caused to pass the printing plate through the printing mechanism without making aprinting operation on it. If, however, the selector pin finds a perforation under it, and goes into the perforation and makes electrical contact with the plate, the selector-control circuit is completed and the printing plate is operated on by the printing mechanism.

The selector card 20 preferably is removable from the printing plate so that selector perforations can be added thereto when desired. The card illustrated in Fig. 3 is adapted to have the address 24 printed thereon by its printing plate and then secured in position on the plate. If it is not intended to add selector perforations to the card after it is first applied to the plate, the card can be more or less permanently attached to the plate.

The structural character of the selector card is not herein of importance except that it is intended to be electrically insulating. The card or plate cover can be composed of paper or other electrically insulating material. Instead of being mechanically secured to the plate, the card or cover can be adherently secured thereto.

The particular design of the printing plate is not herein of importance except that it has a metal surface or surfaces under the selector perforations, which surfaces can be in electrical contact with a guideway or a. circuit terminal of the selector control circuit at the time the plates are felt by the selector mechanism.

I claim:

p 1. A printing device for a printing machine comprising a meta-l plate having impressed printing characters on one face and Van electrically insulating cover that overlies at least a part of the other face of the plate, said cover having means by which a contact member can make electrical connection therethrough with said plate.

2. A printing device for a printing machine comprising a metal plate having impressed printing characters on the front face thereof and an electrically insulating cover for at. least a part of the rear face thereof, said cover overlyingthe rear face of said metal plate entirely about the region of said printing characters and in such overlying portion having at least one selector'- opening therein through which electrical contact with said metal plate can be made.

3. 'A printing device as defined in claim 2 wherein said cover also has means which give information as to the nature of the printing characters of said metal plate.

4. A printing device for printing machines comprising a metaly plate having printing characters which are embossed in the rear face of said plate and are in relief on the front face thereof, and an electrically insulating cover for the rear face and the kembossed printing characters having one or more selector-openings therein which expose the plate thereunder and through which openings electrical contact can be made with said plate,

said cover having thereon a facsimile of the printing characters of the plate disposed over the embossed characters.

5. A printing device for printing machines comprising a metal plate having printing characters which are embossed in the rear face of said plate and are in relief on the front face thereof, and an electrically insulating cover plate for they rear face having one or more selector-openings therein which expose the metal plate thereunder .and through whichA openings electrical contact can be made with said plate, said insulating plate having anopening which entirely bounds and exposes to view at least certain of the printing characters of said metal plate.

6.fA selectorcard for theY metal printing plates of printing machines comprising an electrically insulating sheet which is adapted to overlie a portion of the metal plate and has a selector-perforation therethrough by which electrical contact can be established with said platewherein the card has an opening which entirely bounds and exposes the printing characters ofthe printing plate, the selector-perforation being located in the card outside of said opening.

HARMON P. ELLIOTT. 

